First Aid
by vendettadays
Summary: It started with a first-aid kit that Sam bought when she was in University. A collection of one-shots where Sam does her best to patch-up Lara's injuries. Lara/Sam
1. First Aid

**Title:** First Aid  
**Author: **vendettadays  
**Fandom:** Tomb Raider (2013)  
**Characters:** Lara Croft, Sam Nishimura  
**Rating:** T  
**Length:** 742  
**Summary:** Lara knew how to do basic first aid, but Sam had insisted, ever since that time in school when she had cut herself with a pair of scissors, that it was easier if she just did it for her.

* * *

It was three in the morning and Sam was sat on the sofa, wrapped up in a tartan-patterned blanket up to her eyes. Black and white images on the television flashed and lit up the dark corners of her living room. Her heart pounded. Her grip on the blanket tightened. Her back prickled in anticipation, as a silhouette approached from behind the shower curtain. She gulped and pushed herself into sofa cushions. The next scene always got her, no matter how many times she saw it.

The living room door opened with a creaking wail just as the shower curtain pulled back.

Sam screamed and threw the blanket over her head.

'Sam! You're going to wake up the neighbours!'

The lights turned on and Sam stopped screaming when the world inside her blanket went from black to red. She stayed underneath until she thought it was safe to come out. When she surfaced, Lara, for the lack of a politer word, looked pissed off as she sat down on the sofa next to Sam. Sam paused the film quickly.

'Can't you watch _Psycho_ a little earlier in the day?' asked Lara.

'It's a classic that has to be watched late at night with the lights off. It's the only way you can really appreciate—'

Sam stopped and gasped when she saw Lara's bloodied left hand, cradled close to her chest. Her knuckles were scraped and cut and covered with dried blood.

'What the hell happened?' exclaimed Sam. She got up from the sofa and rushed to her room to get her first aid kit. The amount of action the first aid kit had seen in the last few weeks was well worth the extortionate amount of £20 it cost to buy.

'I broke up a fight and a drunk guy smashed a pint glass over my hand.'

Sam stared at Lara when she got back into the living room with the first aid kit gripped tightly in her two hands. Anger boiled inside her and she wasn't sure if she was angry at Lara, for trying to break up a pub fight, or with the guy who did this to her.

'It's fine, just a small graze,' said Lara in a weak attempt to calm Sam. 'I don't think any glass got in the cut either.'

Sam ignored Lara and sat down next to her on the sofa. She opened up the first aid kit and set up the equipment she needed: rubber gloves, antiseptic, gauze, and bandages.

'Seriously, why are you always the one breaking up fights?' Sam carefully took Lara's injured hand and began dabbing antiseptic on it.

Lara winced at the sting of antiseptic in her cut, but didn't make a sound. 'We were closing up and I went over to tell them to leave, but they wouldn't and Steve was busy kicking another group out. Then things went pear-shaped.'

'Please tell me that they called the police this time?'

'Yeah, they did and I'm going into the police station tomorrow to give a statement.'

Sam sighed and shook her head. Everything always seemed to go 'pear-shaped' whenever it involved Lara and her job pulling pints at _The Nine Bells_. If it wasn't fights, it was stalkers and if it wasn't stalkers, it was people trying to get Lara into bed. Sam was secretly keeping an eye out for a part-time opening at the British Library for Lara. Surely, old books and dust would be less of a danger than drunken people on a night out in Central London.

They did not talk as Sam wiped the blood away and deemed the cut clean enough for her to apply the gauze and then the bandages.

'All done,' said Sam when she finished. 'Just don't get into any trouble that needs stitches. You know how bad I was at textiles in school.'

She laughed at the wide-eyed expression of horror on Lara's face as she packed everything away into the bag.

Lara examined her bandaged left hand and hugged Sam in thanks. She knew how to do basic first aid, but Sam had insisted, ever since that time in school when she had cut herself with a pair of scissors, that it was easier if she did it for her.

'What am I going to do without you?' Lara said into Sam's shoulder.

'Probably get into a lot of trouble and you'll have to start patching yourself up too.'


	2. Goodnight, Lara

**Title:** Goodnight, Lara  
**Author: **vendettadays  
**Fandom:** Tomb Raider (2013)  
**Characters:** Lara Croft, Sam Nishimura  
**Rating:** T  
**Length:** 845  
**Summary:** All Sam wanted to was to fix Lara, but she could not. Sam could not fix her in the way that she needed, so she coped with what she had.

**A/N:** Inspired by the new 'Rise of the Tomb Raider' trailer.

* * *

Sam grabbed the first aid kit from the kitchen cupboard that she kept it in. She gripped the black bag and closed the cupboard door gently. Everything she did these days was done gently. She walked without a sound into the living room, because any noise would shatter the illusion that everything was normal. Everything was far from normal, but Sam was not about to contradict it.

All she had to do was pretend, because normal did not include waking up at four in the morning to let her best friend into her flat. Normal did not include the feeling of her heart breaking anew each time she saw Lara with new cuts and wounds for her to try and fix. All she wanted was to fix the only thing that she knew she could not. So she coped with what she could do: cleaning the dried blood that stained Lara's skin, disinfecting the cuts before they festered, and stitching the wounds without finesse.

Sam settled onto the sofa and pulled out what she needed from the kit. She placed each item onto the coffee table quietly and lined them up: surgical scissors, forceps, and sutures. It was standard equipment to her just like the cameras that she used to carry around with her, but instead of lenses and memory cards it was rubber gloves and a bottle of antiseptic. She was a lot better at textiles now.

'Lara, sweetie?'

Sam turned her body to face her silent companion sat next to her. Lara's left foot stilled and, without the constant tapping to fill Sam's dark living room lit only by a table lamp, the silence between them grew until it seeped into every corner. This was what they had become. Lara, who communicated with nervous gestures in public, but thrived on her natural instincts in the wilderness. And Sam? Sam was reduced to reading non-verbal signs like a fortune-teller reading tea leaves. She got it right most days and avoided thinking about the days she got it wrong.

She reached up and drew back the grey hood that covered Lara's head. Lara did not look up, eyes downcast and focused on something that was not there. She did not resist Sam. So it was a "right" day. Sam pulled at the zip and dragged it all the way down. She slipped her fingers under the hoody on Lara's shoulders; her thumbs grazed against Lara's collarbones as she pushed the material down her arms. A shuddering breath trembled beneath Sam's hands when she brushed against an open cut on Lara's forearm.

'Sorry,' murmured Sam. She stretched the material and avoided touching the cut as much as possible.

Once it was off, Sam placed the dirty hoody next to her. She would throw it into the bin later, maybe even burn it. She took Lara's left hand into hers and turned it over with her palm facing up, so she could look at Lara's forearm. There was more dried blood than skin and Sam's stomach clenched at the sight of the three-inch cut that desperately needed stitches.

Sam cleaned the cut and hoped it was clean enough that it wouldn't get infected. She held the forceps with the suture in her hand and started to stitch the cut back together. She bit her lips and concentrated on keeping her hands still, because this was Lara. Lara who already had so many other scars on her body that she did not need another caused by Sam's shaky hands. This was the fifth time, but her hands still shook in a way a filmmaker's should not. When it was done, Sam cut the thread and stripped the rubber gloves off.

'It's finished.'

Sam took Lara's hand and held onto it tightly. Lara's hand and fingers were covered with coarse calluses, half-healed cuts, and bruises that had gone from purple to yellow and then back to purple. Sam clenched her teeth together and swallowed down the tears, because it did not how she felt anymore. This wasn't about pub fights or smashed pint glasses and it never would be about those things anymore.

Lara wasn't going to stop.

There was nothing that Sam could say or do to get Lara to stay.

So she did the only thing she knew how to do.

She signed up for first-aid classes, because it was the only thing that kept Lara coming back to her. Even if it was every few months in the middle of the night when Lara got back from whatever death-defying excursion she was on, but it was better than nothing.

'Do you want to crash on my sofa tonight?' Sam let go of Lara's hand and packed everything away.

Lara nodded and pulled the tartan-patterned blanket off the top of the sofa and onto her body.

'Let me know if you need anything,' said Sam, as she got up from the sofa. She paused on her way out of her living room and hoped that Lara would, at least, look at her, but she didn't. 'Goodnight, Lara.'


	3. Bouldering

**Title:** Bouldering  
**Author: **vendettadays  
**Fandom:** Tomb Raider (2013)  
**Characters:** Lara Croft, Sam Nishimura  
**Rating:** K+  
**Length:** 1015  
**Summary: **It was a good thing that Sam went rock climbing with Lara every week, even if she did spend most of the night watching everyone else in the Rock Climbing Society climb than doing any actual climbing herself.

**A/N:** Sam does try to patch Lara up in this oneshot? Been a while since I've written something without any angst - hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Sam adjusted the harness around her waist and leant against the pile of mats, as she watched the Rock Climbing Society practise on the climbing wall in front of her. She propped her right foot on the mats behind, crossed her arms and pretended to look nonchalant as she watched Lara stretch her leg to an impossible angle to reach the next foothold. Lara made it look so easy and effortless, while the freshers struggled to pull their weight upwards. Then again, Sam was no better than the any of them.

Climbing and bouldering weren't really Sam's thing, but Lara had asked her to join in their first year, so that she didn't have to go by herself. Sam wasn't about to say no to a night of flexing arm muscles, tight glutes, and fine abs. But they were in their second year now and she was a regular member who went every week, even if she spent most of the time staring at everyone than climbing.

From her position at the back of the hall, she was able to appreciate Tom's muscled shoulders, as he pulled himself up the wall and the tightening of Xia's toned abs when she pushed up with her foot, so that she could reach a handhold. She had to admit that Lara looked particularly good in her shorts and a sweat-drenched tank top with her hair tied up in a ponytail. Sam would join them, but she quite enjoyed the view from where was.

It was because of where she was standing that she saw everything before anyone else. Sam launched into a run the moment she saw Lara's foot slip and her fingers miss the handhold she was reaching for. Lara fell onto a lower slope with a loud cry and she grabbed onto a handhold to stop herself from sliding the rest of the way down.

By the time Sam had got to the climbing wall Lara had slowly eased her way down the last two metres to the padded floor. The Society President was by Lara's side and had an arm around her waist. Lara shrugged David off as politely as she could and hobbled over, on her good leg, to Sam where she collapsed onto her shoulder.

'I got her Prez, thanks!' said Sam cheerily, her legs almost buckling under Lara's weight. Poor guy, thought Sam as David ran off to get the Sport Centre's first aider.

Lara's skin was burning hot and wet with sweat, but it was her scrunched up expression that concerned Sam the most. She helped Lara to a bench and lowered her carefully down. Lara's right thigh had taken the brunt of her fall and given the tears that pooled at the corner of her eyes, it must have been painful.

'What did you say about bouldering being a good idea?' teased Sam, as she ducked away from Lara's half-hearted swipe at her head.

'Maybe if you were a better belayer and didn't ogle everyone, I would climb with a harness more often.'

'You're just jealous that the only ogling you get is from David and not from me.' Lara blushed and tried to stoically ignore Sam's smirk, but her cheeks flushed a darker shade of pink anyway.

Sam found Lara's awkwardness at her playful flirting (or any flirting for that matter) endearing, but she took pity on her friend and changed the subject. 'Are you okay? 'Cause, ouch, that looks like it hurts pretty bad.'

'You can tell me if it hurts the next time you fall ten feet through the air and land on a hold.'

'Is that a yes, you're okay? 'Cause I don't want to spend my night in A&amp;E when I could be at home watching _Attack of the 50 Foot Woman_.' Lara shook her head and groaned, but Sam saw the smile on Lara's lip, undoubtedly remembering the last time they ended up at the hospital's Accident &amp; Emergency department. That Halloween party would always be the most memorable one that Sam ever went to.

Sam waved towards to the other end of the hall, where a member of staff holding a large, green plastic box with a white-cross printed on it had come through the door, followed closely behind by the Society President. He waved back and jogged towards them with the Society's tiny first-aid kit in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

'Why don't you just tell the Prez that you're not interested?'

'I did last week.' Lara sighed and sagged into Sam's side. 'He's being nice, that's all.'

Sam shrugged and rubbed Lara's arms soothingly. The first aider knelt down by Lara's leg and whistled at the sight of the bruise, which was blooming beautifully now, turning a dark purple on Lara's normally pale skin. She felt Lara tense every time the first aider moved the injured leg, but it seemed like nothing was broken.

'Everything looks like it's working.' The first aider handed a cold compress to Lara. 'When you get home, keep your leg elevated and put a cold compress on it for 20 minutes every 3 to 4 hours.'

'Thank you,' replied Lara, hissing when she pressed the cold compress against her bruise.

'I could take you to the hospital if you want a doctor to have a look at your leg?' offered David. 'I drove, so I mean, it's no trouble at all.'

'Um, David that's nice of you –'

'Thanks, Prez! But all Lara needs is a big bag of frozen peas from our freezer and she'll be back to normal,' interrupted Sam quickly.

'Oh, okay, that's no problem.' David rubbed the back of his need and shuffled his feet. 'Well, I guess I'll see you next week.'

Sam grinned and said goodbye as David smiled at Lara and walked back to the climbing wall.

'Thanks for that,' murmured Lara, relaxing against Sam.

'You know, he'd probably give us a lift home if you said that you couldn't walk.'

For that Sam received a hard jab in the side from Lara's elbow.


	4. It Costs an Arm and a Leg

**Title:** It Costs an Arm and a Leg  
**Author: **vendettadays  
**Fandom:** Tomb Raider (2013)  
**Characters:** Lara Croft, Sam Nishimura  
**Rating:** K+  
**Length:** 1222  
**Summary:** It was a Halloween party that Sam and Lara would never forget, especially not when they stole an arm and a leg for it.

**A/N:** In my other fic 'It's a Long and Arduous Road to Recovery' Sam mentioned a Halloween party that ended with a trip to the hospital. Here it is and hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

* * *

'Sam, I really don't think this is a good idea,' said Lara as she followed closely behind Sam in the dark corridor.

They were sneaking around UCL at ten o'clock in the evening like thieves, all because Sam had wanted _the_ perfect Halloween costume. Lara had scoped out the building earlier in the day for CCTV; there hadn't been any just like Sam had said, but Lara wasn't taking any chances, especially not when it involved Sam and her ridiculous schemes.

'It'll be fine, stop worrying so much,' whispered Sam. She stopped outside the storage room they wanted and pulled two bent paperclips from the back pocket of her jeans. 'The drama society aren't going to miss an arm and a leg.'

'They have _one_ mannequin for their productions, of course they're going to miss an arm and a leg!' said Lara as loudly as she dared. 'And when did you learn to pick a lock?'

The lock clicked and the door swung open. Sam looked triumphant and Lara wished, not for the first time, that Matron Smith had decided to put her into different dorm room when she had moved to St. Margaret's School for Girls. At least that way, she would not have made friends with a future criminal.

'YouTube is a marvel of the Twenty-first Century.'

'And so is our criminal justice system when they find us guilty,' muttered Lara.

Sam rolled her eyes and went inside the storage room, holding the door for Lara in exaggerated impatience. Lara sighed and walked inside reluctantly; she closed the door and squinted in the darkness for the mannequin that Sam wanted. If they did not find that plastic man in the next five minutes, she was going to drag Sam out of the university by her ear. She didn't have to because Sam had found her arm and leg in a box at the back of the room. Lara took the arm Sam held out for her and Sam tucked the leg under her arm.

'Okay, you have what you came for, can we leave?' Lara opened the door and began walking back the way they came, but was stopped when Sam hooked the leg's foot around her waist.

'There's just one more thing I need before we can go.'

* * *

'See, totally worth the effort,' said Sam after another person complimented them on their costumes.

'I still think wrapping ourselves in loo roll would have been a better idea.' Lara opened a beer for herself and poured a shot of sambuca for Sam.

It would have been cleaner too, thought Lara. She didn't even want to think about how long it would take to get the red paint, that they'd stolen –_ '_borrowed' said Sam – from the Art Department, out of her hair. But it had been satisfying to finally rip and ruin their old St Margaret's school uniform.

'Toilet paper mummies are a waste, Lara, and you know how damn expensive toilet paper is.' Sam threw the shot back and grimaced from the burn in her throat, but poured herself another regardless. 'I know you're into your embalmed bodies, but come on, zombie school girls covered in blood, waving arms and legs are way cooler.'

Lara shook her head and ignored Sam's smug grin, but she couldn't stop the smile that quirked at her own lips. Their Halloween costumes were pretty cool with the extra arm and leg, and the red paint and dirt was the cherry on top of an overall impressive first year Halloween costume. But she wasn't going to tell Sam all that, else she would never hear the end of it or worse, get roped into further potentially, criminal activities. She really did not look forward to whatever plans Sam had in mind for next year's costumes.

'It won't be cool when I have to carry you, an arm, and a leg home on the Tube tonight, because you didn't slow down with the sambuca,' warned Lara. She watched Sam down her fifth shot in the last five minutes and they had only arrived ten minutes ago.

Lara thought about taking the bottle away when a guy, painted green, as the Hulk ran into the living room and roared whilst everyone around them cheered. Apparently, the host of the house party had arrived.

'How 'bout you tell that guy to slow down,' snickered Sam.

The Hulk wobbled as he walked around the room laughing and high-fiving everyone he passed, but he ran, with hands outstretched, at Sam the moment he saw the plastic leg she had propped against her shoulder.

'Hey, get the hell off!'

'Come on, let me have it!' The guy grabbed the top of the leg whilst Sam held on tightly to the foot. 'I promise to give it back!'

'Let go!' yelled Sam.

Lara watched as Sam tugged the leg with all her strength just as the guy let go and the last thing she remembered was a very hard, plastic thigh smacking her head before she blacked out.

'L—'

'La—'

'Lara!'

'Oh my god, I'm _so_ sorry! Please don't tell me all that red is blood?'

Lara opened her eyes and groaned at the radiating throb on the left side of her head. Sam's face was blurry and she blinked to clear her vision, but the pain only made the world swim in and out of focus.

'Sweetie, are you okay? Say something.'

'I'm alright.' Lara looked up at Sam and the small crowd of monsters standing behind her. How did she get on the floor?

She tried to get up, but Sam gently pushed her back down and shouted at someone. 'Call a taxi and someone get me some ice. No, I don't want a cold beer, I need ice!'

* * *

'Sam, I'm fine, can we go now?' whined Lara as she tapped her foot against the linoleum floor and adjusted the defrosting bag of peas on her head. The dried paint in her hair was wet and she felt it dripping down her neck. She definitely looked worse than she was. 'We've been waiting for two hours and I feel much better.'

'You blacked out for a good ten seconds,' said Sam with her arms crossed against her chest. The arm and leg sat in a chair next to her. 'You might have a concussion and we are not going anywhere until you have seen someone about it.'

It turned out that everyone else waiting to see a doctor in the Accident and Emergency Department had pretty cool costumes too. Sat in front of them was a woman with a very impressive Edward Scissorhands costume. Lara would have joked that it had probably been a bad idea for the woman to use real scissors, but the alcohol in Sam was long gone by now and it was unlikely she would appreciate the joke.

'Is this what you had in mind for our first university Halloween party?' asked Lara, turning to Sam with a wide smile. Maybe it was the concussion talking, but everything about tonight was funny to her and she was the one that got hit in the head.

'No.' Sam pouted and frowned with worry. 'You're the one that's supposed to be carrying me, the arm, and the leg home, not the other way round.'


End file.
